Doc Rivers threatened to make changes if his team doesn’t play better, from Gary Washburn of Boston Globe: “I don’t think the guys are honest with each other. I just don’t think we have committed to being a good basketball team. I think this team wants everything easy. They want the easy way out. They want to win easy. I told them, the only way you’re going to win easy is you’re gonna have to play hard. The harder you play the easier the games become. We’re taking [that] approach.”… “I gotta either find the right combination, the right guys or we’re going to get some guys out of here,” he said. “It’s the bottom line, because this group right now, they’re not playing right and it’s in them to play right but right now they haven’t been because I’m not getting to them or they’re not getting to each other. Either we’ve got to do that or we’ve got to make changes. I’m saying if we don’t get it right we may [make changes].’’
Kobe Bryant wants to take all the blame for the Lakers’ struggles this season, from Dave McMenamin of ESPN Los Angeles: “Everybody wants to know what’s the reason, whose fault it is and this, that and the other,” Bryant said. “I just made it more easy. You should just point the finger at me. Let me take all that. This way, we won’t have to worry about that as a team. It’s part of my responsibility. I’ll take [the criticism] and we can just focus on what we do best, which is playing together and trying to figure out how to get out of this losing.”
Mike D’Antoni may agree with Bryant’s notion, albeit indirectly. See what the coach said, from McMenamin: “I just think the way we’re playing is not conducive to winning,” D’Antoni said glumly after the game. “We got a lot of issues. Offensively, the ball sticks, and we don’t take very good shots. Offensively, we struggle. And then defensively, ups and downs. We forget guys. Overall, [we are] just not [playing] real well.” The “not very good shots” comment can be applied to Bryant, as can the defensive ups and downs, since Bryant’s Doberman-like defense just wasn’t there on Sunday.
- To fix some of their issues, D’Antoni has apparently decided to bring Pau Gasol off the bench for good, from Kevin Ding of The OC Register:
It appears the Kings will be moving over to Seattle for next season, from Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports: “With the finalization of the Sacramento Kings’ sale to a Seattle-based ownership group, the NBA’s relocation committee will overwhelmingly ratify the franchise’s move to Seattle for the 2013-14 season, league sources told Yahoo! Sports. The new ownership group, led by Chris Hansen and Steve Ballmer, will purchase 65 percent of the Kings at a franchise valuation of $525 million. The new owners will file for relocation to Seattle before the March 1 deadline, sources told Yahoo! Sports. The Seattle group’s plan is to play the next two seasons in KeyArena before moving into a new $500 million arena in downtown Seattle in 2015, sources said.
Wojnarowski also has an update on who may take over the franchise once the move to Seattle is finalized: “The new Seattle NBA ownership group has begun discussing possible candidates to run its franchise and has deliberated whether to target San Antonio Spurs general manager R.C. Buford and former Indiana Pacers president Larry Bird, sources told Yahoo! Sports. The ownership group led by Chris Hansen and Steve Ballmer has finalized an agreement to purchase the Sacramento Kings and plans to move the team to Seattle for the 2013-14 season. The pending owners want to completely redo the franchise’s basketball infrastructure, sources told Yahoo! Sports.
- Derrick Rose is inching closer to a return, from the Chicago Bulls:
Thibodeau says Rose "very close" to full contact in practices: "It could happen this week." #Bulls
@chicagobulls
Chicago Bulls
- Andrew Bogut is starting to show signs of returning to the Warriors, from Rusty Simmons of San Francisco Chronicles:
Center Andrew Bogut (left ankle) ran sprints at full tilt during the Warriors' pregame warm-ups.
@Rusty_SFChron
Rusty Simmons
Bah! Gasol SHOULD come off the bench. He wants to be a starter, then play like it. I’ve been saying this for the last three years at least, Gasol is a talented big, no question, but if he’s not going to consistently play he is then what’s the point of having all that skill? Guy has no heart.
I’m not sure you used ‘forgettable’ correctly there. A 14/14 season is pretty memorable for anyone.
Of course. I was referring to another injury-ridden season.